The Unexpected Band
by Nehszriah
Summary: [AU[Complete] Everyone's favorite chimera is the leader of a band! What happens when he decides to go on tour and his best friend Lina doesn't want to be left behind. Pairings revealed later, rating might be tinkered with, maybe.
1. Ichi

Konnichi-wa! New Slayers fiction for all! I am Nez-chan, coming off of a few Slayers one-shots and such to write this spiffy multi-chapter. I is not owning Slayers or most other things in here. I did write the songs, at the administration's discretion. Baka rules. -grump- Still, please do not steal the songs. Arigato.

**The Unexpected Band**

Ichi

Lina Inverse looked over the table towards her best friend, Zelgadis Graywords. He was sitting almost as casually as could possibly be in his dark slacks, purple shirt that had rolled sleeves and been buttoned up only partway and sipping the coffee he had just bought at the café counter. He was also reading the newspaper, something nobody would ever think of him doing. Why would Zelgadis, otherwise known as Stone Chimera, the lead guitarist of the super-popular rock group _Slayers_ read the daily newspaper? Lina just sighed.

"What's the matter?" Zelgadis asked, having heard his friend's moaning. He looked over the paper and gave his friend a sarcastic smile. He had known the girl in front of him for longer than either of them could remember. Lina just looked up at him, fiddling with one of her blue hoop earrings and shifting slightly in her seat. Sitting there in her plain uniform, she had just gotten off work as a night security guard at the local museum and was really in desperate need of the coffee in her hand. It was nearly a shame it was decaffeinated.

"Do you really have to go?" she asked softly. "Do you have to go away on this tour? Six whole months on the road is way too long. We won't even know each other anymore."

"I do not manage my band, you know that," Zelgadis sighed, turning a page of the paper.

"I need to meet this manager of yours and give him a piece of my mind," Lina muttered. "This Gabriev-san is really getting on my nerves."

"Hey, he makes some great decisions if you let him," Zelgadis said, taking another sip of his coffee. "Trust me, his is not all that much the yogurt-brain you think him to be."

"Anyone who separates my best friend and I for that long must be off their rocker," Lina said indignantly.

"Stop acting like a little kid Lina-chan," Zelgadis said. "Gabriev-san is just doing what he believes is best for the band. If he thinks that what is best is us going on this tour, then that is that."

"Fine." Lina glared over at Zelgadis. Suddenly, she remembered why she had asked Zelgadis to get some coffee with her. She went into her bag and took out a simple necklace, a pewter five-point star inscribed in a circle with small glittering stones at each point. The pendant was attached to a thin brown cord that was quite long. Lina put it on the table in front of Zelgadis.

"What is this Lina-chan?" he asked, picking up the pendant and examining it.

"A good-bye gift," Lina chuckled lightly. "I remembered how much you liked all the wiccan-druid-alchemic-sorcery stuff when we were in school and I thought you might like it, that's all."

"I shall never get they way your brain works Lina Inverse," Zelgadis laughed. "Why wouldn't you just give it to me at band practice today? You are always there."

"Yes, but so are Naga and Xellos! They would tease me and say that I have a crush on you, but that is not true. We are just good friends, right?"

Zelgadis knew Lina was right. Naga Serpent and Xellos Yakozu had known both Zelgadis and Lina in school and loved teasing them about being "just friends". They were the lead singer and drummer for the band and always got a good laugh in during practice at Lina's expense. One who would also join in on the laughter was Filia the Dragoness, the band's keyboard player and Xellos's girlfriend. Nobody else had known Filia until Xellos dragged her in one day and declared her part of the band. No one ever got Xellos either, just a crazy man, running around, keeping his life secret.

"Right Lina-chan. I'll see you at practice," Zelgadis said, standing up straight. Lina smiled at him as he walked away. She sure was going to miss him. She too got up and walked over to her modest apartment not too far away. Her alarm clock told her it was nine o'clock and time to get up, but she ignored it and dreamt the morning away.

* * *

Lina walked into the old studio, soaking wet from the outside rain. It was four in the afternoon and band practice was going to start in the basement soon. She took off her trench-coat to reveal that she had changed from her uniform into blue jeans and a grey t-shirt. Putting her coat on the coatrack, she walked down the creaky stairs and into a large area where _Slayers _practiced.

"Hey Lina-chan!" Zelgadis called out. He was tuning up his electric guitar over by a big amplifier. Lina was happy to see that he had on the pendant she gave him earlier. The cord was so long on it that it came halfway down his chest, sitting right above where he had stopped buttoning his shirt.

"Now how is my greatest and foremost rival, hm?" Naga asked, putting an arm around Lina's neck. Naga seemed to pop out of nowhere, like she always did. She had on blue shorts that seemed a little bit too short, a clingy white t-shirt and had her long black hair tied back in a ponytail.

"Fine Naga-chan. Hey, where is everyone else?" Lina asked monotonously.

"Don't know," Naga frankly answered. She went over to Zelgadis and listened as he tuned the guitar strings.

"Would you like to practice Naga-chan?" Zelgadis asked.

"Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, why yes," she answered, giving her horridly annoying laugh. Zelgadis started to strum a slow and sweet tune and very soon, Naga began her singing.

_Now you come for me_

_In the evening twilight_

_Now you come for me_

_Under the moon tonight_

_I wish you to leave_

_Never again look back_

_I wish you to leave_

_I know what you lack_

_Deep in my heart_

_It pains me to go_

_Deep in my heart_

_Follow me? Oh no!_

Lina clapped as Naga ended her verses. Lina had always been there as a band groupie for support and she always clapped for Naga, being she actually had a good singing voice.

"Thank you, thank you," Naga said, bowing deeply. Zelgadis and Lina just sighed as Naga took it in.

"You were good too Zel-kun," Lina smiled.

"Thanks," Zelgadis blushed.

"Aww... looks like Zelgadis-kun's been talking to his girlfriend by looking at the nice crimson he's turning," said a voice from the base of the stairs. It was Filia. Xellos was right behind her as they walked across the room and over to their instruments.

"She is not my girlfriend," Zelgadis muttered, glaring at the blonde girl at the keyboards. She just gave him a cocky smile and stuck a couple of keys.

"Hey, we should wait for Gabriev-san to show up, shouldn't we?" Xellos asked as he took his place at the drums.

"Nah, let's just start," Naga said.

"Why not," Zelgadis sighed. He stood up and cued the others with the guitar. Quicker than Lina knew it, they were playing a song she had not heard before. It bounced and played on the strings of Zelgadis's guitar and made Lina bob her head to the catchy tune

_I never should have tried_

_To be something you know_

_The pain is all too real_

_Destroying me so slow_

_How I wish that all the hate_

_Would disappear forever_

_Yet in the end I know_

_I would loose you too forever_

_Why must... we put up... with this placid life?_

_Too restless am I_

_To handle all this strife_

_Just let the pain all drain away_

_Should we all fear_

_The mundane of existence?_

_It all is so clear_

_All... so... clear..._

_They must have practiced on their own_, she though. She was surprised at the long guitar solo Zelgadis was given, for it really was long and dragged out the song to a happy length. After the song was over, Lina went to clap. She didn't however, someone was already clapping. She turned around to see a tall man with blue eyes and long blonde hair dressed in slacks, shirt and a tie. He appeared to be about her age, maybe a year older.

"That was great!" he said. "Good job you guys! I know this tour will really be the start of a new beginning for us all!"

"You must be Gabriev-san!" Lina said, catching the man's attention. He turned, looked at her and smiled.

"Right, I am Gourry Gabriev. Now who might you be young lady?"Gourry asked, holding out this hand. His tone resonated of one a person might use when talking to a small child.

"Gabriev-san," Zelgadis said cautiously. "You might want to come here for a second."

"Oh, are you baby-sitting her Zelgadis-kun?"

That was it, Lina snapped. She went and forcefully kicked Gourry in the shin. He painfully hopped around on one foot, clutching the injured shin.

"Ow! What was that for?" he yelled at Lina.

"I am an adult woman, thank you very much!" she yelled back, shaking her fist and twitching her eye.

"Oh, I am sorry," Gourry said, wincing as he tried to stand on his injured shin. "You must be the Lina I have heard so much about."

"You've heard about me?" Lina asked.

"Yes, according to Zelgadis-kun over there, you have been there for the band since the very beginning."

"Yes, I have," Lina smiled. She could tell there was something peculiar about this man. Not quite being able to place her finger on it, she brushed the notion aside and what appeared to be an emergency meeting between band and manager came to take place.

"So, I want to make sure we are all set for tomorrow when we set off on the tour," Gourry said as the band gathered around him. "I have the bus rented, the concert places are booked, there are already sold out shows in Sacramento, Jackson, Houston and our first stop, Detroit."

"Yeah, why are we stopping in Detroit again?" Zelgadis asked, a slight bit curious. "This is a North American tour, but of all the random places to start... why Detroit?"

"So we can cross over into Canada afterwards and do that leg of the tour first," Gourry said candidly. "It is going to be winter sooner up that way and I don't want you guys or any of the fans out in the cold. Winter in parts of Canada also lasts much longer, so that means it comes quicker too."

"Good thinking!" Filia said. She then gained a far-off look to her face, shook her head and glanced over at Naga.

"Did you bring the lyrics to the song you were practicing?" she asked.

"I thought you were bringing a copy," Naga said with a surprised expression

"Come on then, we have to go get it!" Filia said. "It was the only copy!"

"Filia, dear," Xellos said as Filia and Naga began to walk towards the door. "What are you talking about?"

"I wrote a song for us to play and I gave Naga-chan the lyrics so she could practice!" Filia said. "Don't worry, we shall be right back." The two females were then out of sight, leaving Xellos, Lina, Gourry and Zelgadis to themselves.

"Can I see the schedule Gabriev-san?" Zelgadis asked. He and Xellos looked it over together in a slight bit of confusion.

"You have Detroit listed twice too?"

"One show to start, one to end. We are starting where we shall end Xellos-kun."

"Of all places too..." Zelgadis sighed.

"Now what is that supposed to mean?" Gourry said, his temper raising a slight bit.

So while the men were bickering, Lina went over to the instruments. She liked how they looked: the transmutation circle on the drums with the band name emblazoned on top of it in what appeared to be a foreign script, Celtic runes covering the keyboard, it was beautiful. Lina loved things like that, that was why she took her job as a security guard at the museum. There was a big exhibit on alchemy, witchcraft and all sorts of pagan cultures. She stood at the keyboard and struck a couple of notes, scaring the guys.

"Lina-chan!" Zelgadis yelled. "What are you doing?"

"Playing," Lina said as she started to play some scales.

"Hey, you are pretty good," Gourry said. "If we ever need a backup for Filia-chan, would you like to join?"

Lina was shocked. She had barely played anything and Gourry was asking her to consider being a band back-up.

"Sure," she said. "Just remember, I do have a job other than hanging around here during practice."

"Right then," Gourry smiled. "I shall contact you if you are needed." He looked at his watch and mouthed a swear word. "Well, I have to go now, I am late for another appointment. We need to meet back here tomorrow, got it?"

"Got it," Xellos and Zelgadis said at once. With that, Gourry left.

"I still think he's bonkers," Lina muttered, leaning carefully on the keyboard.

"Managing is pretty much the only thing Gabriev-san can do," Zelgadis said, picking up his guitar and checking to see if it was still in tune. "He is pretty much useless doing anything else."

"Yeah, trust us," Xellos added. "He cannot even get a proper girlfriend for more than three days."

"Now how would you know that Xellos-kun?" Zelgadis asked. Lina seemed a bit perplexed too.

"Now that is... a secret!" Xellos said, holing up his right pointer finger and grinning evilly. Lina and Zelgadis hated when he did not tell them stuff.

The rest of practice went along fine. Xellos and Zelgadis practiced some songs with the help of Lina on the keyboard. Zelgadis sang along to the music, proving that _Slayers_ really didn't need Naga's voice after all, but Naga seemed to have the perfect tone for the majority of the songs, so no one could really boot her out. By eight, the rain had stopped and Naga and Filia hadn't come back yet, so band practice was called off. Zelgadis and Xellos went the separate ways to their apartments and Lina happily down to hers, being it was her night off. She just got nestled in for a movie when the phone rang.

"Hello?" Lina said, picking up the telephone.

"Lina-chan?"

"Hey Zel-kun! Want to come over and watch movies with me?"

"Lina-chan, there is no more tour. No more_ Slayers_."

"Zelgadis-kun," Lina said nervously. There was an air to his voice that was not very pleasant, not happy or even sarcastic. "Where are you?"

"St. Jude ER."

"Why are you at the hospital Zelgadis!" Lina asked, now very worried. "What happened? Are you alright?"

"Lina-chan..."

Suddenly, then phone went blank. Lina rushed to get out the door. There was something wrong. What could be wrong?

_I hope everything will be alright...

* * *

_

And the cliff-hanger! Yay! Please review and tell me what you think. Next chapter soon, I hope you all like! Sayonara until next time!


	2. Ni

Same old Disclaiming...no owing Slayers, or most of everything else in here, except the song/poemy things. Umm... gomen nasai (very sorry) in advance for any bad parts you might want to beat me for. I hope there is none... -starts praying-

* * *

Ni

"Damn it all! Of all the things that could happen!" Gourry yelled. He drank his last swig of beer and slammed down the bottle. He, Xellos, Lina and Zelgadis were in a smoky bar, all with drinks and all very morose from the past three hours at the hospital.

"It was not your fault Gabriev-san," Zelgadis said. "None of us could have figured that someone would loose control in the rain and crash into Filia's car."

"I could have kept them at practice! A good manager would have told them to stay put!"

"No one can tell Filia, let alone Naga what to do," Lina said, patting Gourry lightly on the shoulder for consolation.

"Yeah, but now our lead vocal cannot sing for the rest of her life from a throat injury and the keyboardist's arm is shattered! _Slayers_ is a group of four and if we do not get that female vocal, we cannot go on tour," Gourry sobbed. "I am ruined for the rest of my career! Nobody shall want to hire me now..."

"Maybe he should think of us too for a second," Xellos whispered to Lina and Zelgadis. They both nodded in accord.

"He is pretty depressed though," Lina said.

"Yeah," Zelgadis added. "I have never seen him this depressed the whole time I've known him."

"Well, that is because he knows that the only thing he can do properly is manage a band," Xellos finished. "He knows that he is doomed unless we go on the tour. His success rides on ours. We can always join separate bands or start another, but he cannot."

All three turned over and looked at Gourry. He was whimpering with his head down on the table and buried in his arms. He seemed to be muttering things that sounded similar to seppkuu, harakiri and joining a circus troupe and managing them.

Just then, the lighting in the bar went down and a spotlight shone on the shallow stage. A slightly balding man with a scruffy beard and worn suit came up on the stage with a microphone and waved at the audience.

"...and now ladies and gentlemen, I would like to open up our weekly karaoke night!" he said. "Is there any volunteers?"

"Why don't you go Zelgadis-kun," Lina said. "You sing very well."

"No," Zelgadis grumbled. "I would be recognized." He did not even turn around to see the stage. He just kept his back turned and sipped some of his beer.

"It still looks like somebody beat you to it," Xellos laughed. If Zelgadis had turned around, he would have seen that it was one of the waitresses, pushed up by some of the drunken patrons. She was in her yellow and orange uniform, all frilly and messy from handling dishes. Her shoulder-length black hair fell in her face as she took the microphone from the shabbily dressed man and shyly walked to the center of the stage. The drunks cheered for her and she looked as if she were going to cry.

"I wonder what is up with that?" Lina asked. "Why did she go up if she was so sad?"

"Maybe because she was forced to," Xellos said casually. "She does have an attractive setup. The drunken bums must want to see her on stage."

Lina looked over at the waitress. She did have a large chest. Lina jealously pouted for a second and then shifted over towards the brooding Zelgadis, considering what an icky thing Xellos had just commented about.

_Why would he think of things like that? He has Filia_, she wondered, a bit disgusted. Music started up and the waitress began force herself to sing along to a peppy tune that had made even Zelgadis turn around to look at her...

_I have tried to say this_

_All so many times_

_Everyday that I have_

_sat back and watched. Sometimes_

_Daydreaming of this moment_

_I thought would never come_

_Now you are here and I say_

_How I love someone_

_I-I-I-I am in love with you!_

_I-I-I-I am in love with you!_

_Never did I think I'd say it_

_You always scared it down_

_Now its out! My heart is free_

_From a disappointing frown_

_Deep inside my soul_

_I never thought I'd know_

_Happiness again_

_Hey now, don't let go!_

_I-I-I-I am in love with you!_

"You suck!" someone yelled as she finished. There next came a swarm of insults and catcalls, all trying to force her off the stage. The waitress cried as she ran out of the room and through a door that was labeled as an exit.

"What a shame, she sounded good too," Xellos sighed. Zelgadis got up without a word and started walking over to the door.

"Zelgadis-kun," Lina said. "Where are you going?"

Zelgadis did not answer. Instead he went out the door. It had led him into an alleyway where he found the petite waitress from before, crying her eyes out. She was seated on an old crate that appeared it had been in the same spot for quite a while.

"Hey," he said.

"Go away," she sniffled, not even looking at Zelgadis. He went and sat down next to her. She shifted so her back was facing him and cried a little bit more.

"I thought your voice was beautiful," Zelgadis said. "We need a voice like yours, well, my band anyways. We are a bit short currently. Would you like to join?"

"How can I be so certain that you are in a band?" the waitress sniffled.

"Take a look at me first before you even think about deciding," Zelgadis said, putting his hand on her shoulder. She looked over at Zelgadis and gasped.

"Oh my Lord..." she whispered, standing up briskly. "You... you... you are Stone Chimera. You are from that band _Slayers_! You want me to join_ Slayers_?"

"You bet," Zelgadis smiled. He stood up and held out his hand. "Do you accept my offer?"

"Why would you want a waitress to be part of the band?"

"Well, we already have a security guard, a chimera, a mystery man and an emo-manager, so the way I see it: you'd fit in just fine."

"Of course," she laughed, wiping away the tears still on her cheeks. "My name is Amelia. You can call me Amelia-chan if you wish."

"Call me Zelgadis-kun then," Zelgadis said.

"Oh, I cannot do that Zelgadis-san," Amelia said. "So that is your real name? Zelgadis?"

"Did you really expect me to actually be named Stone Chimera? It is just a stage name," Zelgadis laughed, opening the door for Amelia.

"Not really Zelgadis-san."

"Don't be so formal..."

"Hey Zelgadis-kun, who's this?" Lina asked as Zelgadis came inside. She was staking out the door along with Xellos, both wearing the most smug face they could muster.

"I have found a new vocalist," Zelgadis said, trying to give himself a more serious air.

"I can play bass guitar too," Amelia said.

"Great!" Xellos said. He dragged her over to Gourry. "Look what Zelgadis-kun found!"

"Huh?" Gourry muttered, lifting up his head. His face was all red and his eyes were swollen from crying. "Who is this?"

"Our new vocals and bassist," Lina said. "Amelia, this is our manager Gabriev-san."

"Pleased to meet you Gabriev-san," Amelia said pleasantly. Gourry looked up at Amelia and forced a smile.

"We can tour," he whispered joyously. "We can go on tour again! Yes!" He jumped up and hugged Amelia and before he jovially hopped out of the bar, instructed everyone to be at practice the next day.

"When is practice?" Amelia asked Lina.

"Four in the afternoon," Lina answered.

"Do I have to quit my job here then?"

"Right away."

"Good. I'll do that right now. I hate this place anyways," Amelia said, quite pleased. She walked off to the bartender and started to talk to him.

"Lina," Zelgadis asked. "You don't mind this, do you?"

"Not at all," Lina laughed. "In fact, I think it will be a lovely experience for us all." She went and sat back down at the table with Xellos and Zelgadis, awaiting Amelia's return from quitting. When she did come back, there seemed to be a victorious glow around her and a storm cloud of grief over the bartender.

"What did you do to the poor guy?" Xellos asked as they all walked out of the bar and into the lobby.

"Oh, it is just that he has a hard time hiring because of all the perverts that hang out around here," Amelia said. They all stepped outside and it was pouring rain.

"Kya! Looks like we have to run home!" Lina yelled. She sprinted off, followed by Xellos. Amelia and Zelgadis stayed under the door's canopy and looked at each other.

"Would you like me to walk you home?" Zelgadis asked.

"You mean run?" Amelia asked. Zelgadis just laughed.

"No, I am smarter than most take me for." He pulled a collapsible umbrella from his coat pocket and opened it. "Now in which direction do you live again?"

"Left," Amelia giggled. She just could not believe her fortune. She had just met Stone Chimera, one of the biggest idols in the world, joined one of the most popular rock bands since the Beatles and was now walking home with Stone Chimera at her side, wanting her to call him by his proper name. She clung to his arm, making him blush as they walked the short walk over to her apartment. Once they got there, they bid each other farewell and parted. Both Amelia and Zelgadis knew something very good was going to happen to them all very soon, but none of them we quite sure to what.

* * *

"You know what? I think we are all ready to go," Gourry said. He was at the band practice and listened in on the new Slayers and was convinced that they all had sounded great. Amelia had brought her bass guitar and the band was able to add a few bass songs to their lineup, something that would have never happened with Naga around.

"You really think we are ready after one day's practice?" Amelia asked sheepishly.

"I believe him!" Lina said. She was so pumped from all of the practicing that she had even decided to name the keyboards. "Hey Zel-kun... how do you think I would write 'Dragu Slave' in runes?"

"Don't even think about painting that on the keyboards," Zelgadis said from across the room as he was talking to Xellos. He did not even have to look at Lina to know she was holding a paintbrush and a bucket of crimson paint.

"Zel-kun..."

"No writing on the instruments! You have horrible penmanship and I wrote what I wrote on there for a reason! Discussion closed!"

"What's so great about all this stuff anyways," Lina muttered. She knew what the writings all over the equipment meant: pestilence, Ragnarok, evil, malevolence, torture, death, famine, sacrifice. All these things and more was scribbled all over the instruments. The guitar and bass were littered with them. The drums had transmutation circles inscribed on them. Everything was attempted to look dark and evil. That is what Zelgadis liked it all to look like. He himself was not evil, but he liked his instruments to look satanic so he and the band did not have to.

_Well, I guess it is alright for now_, Lina thought. Maybe I can convince him to fit it on later. She then carefully took down the keyboard and put it into some boxes. Xellos, Gourry and Zelgadis were taking the boxes and case with all of the instruments up to the tour bus that was parked outside on the street. Everyone had packed their personal belongings and the only thing left was to gather the instruments up. After the Dragu Slave keyboard was put in the bus, the tour would begin.

"Lina-chan!" Amelia called from the stairs. "Come on or we are not going to get good spots for the first leg of the ride!"

"Coming Amelia!" Lina answered. She ran up the stairs and out the door. Both ran into the bus and claimed seats next to the windows in the back of the seat area. The whole bus was like a home. There was a small kitchen and bathroom and even some cubbyholes with doors that were going to substitute as individual rooms for the band members and their manager for the next six months.

"So why doesn't Filia or Naga want to come on the trip with us anyways?" Gourry asked Xellos as he boarded the bus.

"Now that is... a secret!"

"Fine, go sit," Gourry sighed, knowing he would never receive an answer from the Xellos-creature. Zelgadis got on the bus and took his seat, leaving only Gourry standing.

"Are you driving Gabriev-san?" Amelia asked.

"Yes I am," Gourry said proudly. Zelgadis and Lina looked at each other.

"Ah, no you are not," Lina said. She and Zelgadis took him and put him in Xellos's seat, right next to Lina's. "Xellos-kun's going to drive, got it?"

"Alright," Gourry said, a bit disappointed that his band had so little faith in his driving abilities.

"Then let's get the ball rolling!" Xellos yelled. He raised his fist in the air. "To our first ever tour!"

"To the tour!" everyone else cheered.

With that, Xellos started the bus and drove off towards Detroit. He noticed something however when he was driving. Lina and Gourry seemed mighty deep into a very quiet conversation and Amelia and Zelgadis seemed without words for they just rested, her head on his shoulder and his head softly laid upon hers.

"I am going to have a real big load on my hands, aren't I?" he said out loud to himself. He chuckled when no one answered and kept on driving down the expressway.


	3. San

Thank you for the reviews. I would like to have more, but I cannot really complain as long as me faithful reviewers come. I thank all those who did review and hope that you keep on reviewing! Arigato and read on!

* * *

San

Within two days of light traveling, the band made it to Detroit in one piece. The climate was hot and sticky, much like a normal day in early September. Xellos drove the tour bus up to a football stadium and parked in the parking lot close to the entrance. Everyone got out and went inside.

Not to anyone's surprise, it was an absolute zoo in the stadium. Everywhere people were running around, doing system checks, making their rounds, this and that, there just seemed to be no end.

"Hello Gabriev-san," a man said. He was very tall and slender with black hair clinging to his head in a frazzled mop. "Did you find your trip here good?" He seemed exhausted, as if he had been running around all morning and afternoon long with barely a rest.

"I guess so," Gourry answered. He seemed to know this man from before.

"So, are these the replacements for White Serpent and Dragoness?" the man asked, looking at Lina and Amelia. They both seemed to want to shrink as the man looked them over, as if trying to judge and see right through them.

"Yes they are. Lina, Amelia, Xellos, Zelgadis, this is Rei. He is going to be the show coordinator here in Detroit," Gourry said, pointing out everyone for Rei to see.

"Well then, you guys are early by a whole day so you can just hang out around here until tomorrow at about two in the afternoon. That is when we are going to start practice and introduce you to your opening band and such," Rei said. He then got a page on the intercom system and left in a rush.

"So that lunatic wants us to hang out around here?" Zelgadis said, looking outside at the rushing traffic.

"Well, we can always stay in the bus," Xellos said.

"Not in this crazy city," Lina muttered.

"Hey, let's go out to lunch then!" Gourry suggested happily and without any input from the band, he began to walk out of the stadium.

Knowing that Gourry had all of the money to get food, everyone else reluctantly followed him, except Xellos who opted to stay in the bus. Once Gourry got outside, he sniffed the air and followed the scent of food to a place called Hockeytown Café. There is where everyone ate a lunch of chili dogs and french fries while under the watch of the multiple murals of ice hockey players dressed in red that were painted on the walls everywhere. After that, they walked over to a small island sitting in the nearby Detroit River, connected to the city by a mere stone bridge.

"Belle Isle," Lina read as she stared at the sign at the end of the bridge.

"Hey I've heard of this place!" Amelia said happily.

"Really?" Gourry asked. "What do you know?"

"It has the oldest aquarium in the country!"

"That it?" Zelgadis asked, a bit unimpressed. He looked around at the half-dying scenery, wanting to know where the glory all went.

"Come on Zelgadis-san! It will be fun!" Amelia giggled. She took his hand and dragged the blushing chimera around the island, trying to find her way using the road signs.

As the four walked through the island, they could see the withered magic that had been a great park. Buildings sat dilapidated and unused, wildlife overran everything. Monuments were splashed with the bleaching acid rain, pouring down the flanks of a bronze horse and its old and silent rider. An unused racetrack around the island was apparent as they followed the imperfect road around the island perimeter. The Canadian city of Windsor was visible on the other side of the river, the riverside property used wisely for the most part. Then they could see Detroit herself and even her majestic Renaissance Center with the big GM symbol on it felt old to look at even though its shiny mirrored walls sparkled in the sun's blinding late-afternoon rays.

"Hey look! A zoo!" Gourry said after a bit, pointing to what appeared to be a zoo that was all closed up. He went up to it and peeked through the graffiti-tagged wooden slats. "I wonder when it will open!"

"Never," Lina said monotonously. She pointed at the sign next to the doors and read. "Belle Isle Zoo Closed Permanently. See? It is closed for good."

"Oh..." Gourry sighed. A miniature storm cloud loomed over his head as they walked along the aquarium's path. After about twenty minutes of walking and Zelgadis being attacked by random small deer-creatures, the Aquarium was finally in view.

"Yay! Fishies!" Amelia cried. She gladly ran up to the door and tried to open it up. It would not open. She tugged and tugged at the handle, but could not get the door to move.

"Is it stuck?" Gourry asked inquisitively.

"No, closed like the zoo," Zelgadis said. There was a sign next to the door that Gourry and Amelia had conveniently forgotten to read.

**-CLOSED PERMANENTLY DUE TO LACK OF CITY FUNDS**-

"No!" Amelia cried. She wrapped her arms around Zelgadis and cried into his chest. "There was supposed to be fish here!"

"Why must she do this?" Zelgadis asked grumpily. Lina and Gourry just shrugged their shoulders.

"That has been closed for a while," a voice said. Behind Zelgadis and Amelia was a dark skinned man who spoke through a heavy Southern accent. "It shut down about five months ago. It was almost saved, but everything done was futile."

"Do you live here?" Lina asked, eyebrow raised.

"Not on the island we are standing on. I live back in the city Atlanta. You know, down in Georgia? My cousin who lives in the suburbs got tickets to a concert and wanted me to come with her tonight," the man kindly answered. "It is a band I have never heard of before. They are supposed to be really good. I think they were called the Slayers...?"

"Just Slayers," Zelgadis said. "We will be there too."

"Then I hope to see you there!" the man said as he walked off to join a woman who looked remarkably similar to himself.

"He did not recognize us," Gourry said, near the point of crying.

"It is alright Gabriev-san," Lina said, patting him on the shoulder. It did not work though, for all the way back to the tour bus both Amelia and Gourry were miserable, which in turn made Zelgadis and Lina miserable as well. Xellos was surprised when the rest of the band joined him in the bus, but then did not want to practice even a single chord.

Instead, he just casually shrugged it off and had some of the cheesecake he had stashed in the refrigerator.

"Places everyone! Places!" Rei yelled. It was the night of the big opening concert and everyone seemed to be running. Gourry was helping Rei put everything together and the band kept on being moved from makeup to costumes and back again repeatedly.

"My hair is fine!" Lina yelled at the hairdresser when she insisted on combing it through for the sixth time. Lina and the others had been made out to look like vicious daemon of sorts with sleek black capes, ruby red shirts and black pants. Silver bedecked Lina and Amelia in the form of fancy jewelry and Zelgadis and Xellos had neck and wrist cuffs in the shiny metal. The makeup crew had done a number on their faces, making them seem even more like apparitions than ever.

"Gourry-san," Amelia whined. "Do we have to play like this the whole time?"

"No Amelia-chan," Gourry answered. "You all play three or so songs and some backstage for new costumes. It will be better as the night goes on."

"Alright," she sighed.

"AND NOW," the intercom bellowed. "THE MOMENT YOU ALL HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR. PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER FOR THE BREAKOUT ROCK GROUP OF THE YEAR... _SLAYERS_!"

Amelia, Xellos, Zelgadis and Lina rushed the stage, receiving a huge round of applause. Immediately, Zelgadis took the microphone and animatedly yelled into it.

"HELLO DETROIT!"

The crowd cheered as they ate it all up.

"ARE YOU ALL READY TO HEAR OUR LATEST SONG: QUOTIDIAN?"

More excessive cheering.

"ALL RIGHT THEN! LET'S GO!"

Zelgadis slammed his guitar into play and music bellowed into the stadium. Lina, Xellos and Amelia followed suit as Zelgadis began to deeply half sing and half shout the song they were just the other day practicing in the studio basement...

_I never should have tried_

_To be something you know_

_The pain is all too real_

_Destroying me so slow_

_How I wish that all the hate_

_Would disappear forever_

_Yet in the end I know_

_I would loose you too forever_

He paused the singing for a few good guitar riffs, letting Amelia and her bass cut in. She suddenly picked up where he had left off...

_Why must... we put up... with this placid life?_

_Too restless am I_

_To handle all this strife_

_Just let the pain all drain away_

_Should we all fear_

_The mundane of existence?_

_It all is so clear_

_All... so... clear..._

Zelgadis and Amelia sang duet on the last line, sending the crowd into an uproar. They were ecstatic with the new and improved _Slayers_. They wanted more. Better yet, the ecstacy was pumping through the band members' bodies as pure adrenaline. Not only did the crowd want more, but so did their band.

"HEY DETROIT, DO YOU ALL WANT MORE!" Amelia yelled into her microphone. The crowd bellowed back in reply. Amelia then strung some strings on her bass and once the song was at the appropriate spot, started to sing...

_I neverrrrrr want to say_

_I neverrrrrr want to feel this way_

_I neverrrrrr have been the same_

_Since youuuuuu came this way_

_Release... your grip... on my heart..._

_Never touch me or rip me apart_

_Hate for this feeling swells inside_

_I never want to see your eyes_

_Looking back down at meeeeee_

_I never want to seeeeee_

_I never want to seeeeee_

The song continued on into a series of solos, each for a different member of the band. The Detroit crowd seemed to love the new members of the band as if they had been there since the beginning.

Suddenly, the tunes slowed down for a sight bit. The audience hushed so that the gentle tune could be heard coming from Amelia's high vocal cords and Zelgadis's subdued guitar.

_Now you come for me_

_In the evening twilight_

_Now you come for me_

_Under the moon tonight_

_I wish you to leave_

_Never again look back_

_I wish you to leave_

_I know now what you lack_

_Deep in my heart_

_It pains me to go_

_Deep in my heart_

_Follow me? Oh no!_

_This newfound joy consumes me_

_My Love, I leave tonight_

_The Hour of Reckoning nears me_

_My Wings, at last take flight_

_My face is cold_

_I can hear the choirs sigh_

_Do not be too bold_

_You would not be near me up high_

_You did come for me_

_In the evening twilight_

_You did come for me_

_Hoping I'd win the fight_

_It is now too late_

_I am sorry dear_

_I sleep; My fate_

_Is now so near_

The crowd went wild. The band then was shuffled off stage and hurriedly put into new costumes. The makeup was washed off and they went back out on stage and played the rest of the night away as a cast of heavy-metal punks. After the show was over, there was no rest. Quickly, Gourry had everyone pack up their things and they headed off in the dead of the night towards Sarnia, which would eventually lead the bus to the next destination of Toronto.

As Xellos drove the bus up the interstate to the Canadian border, Lina and Amelia relaxed in their chairs right next to each other. They whispered softly over the bumps and potholes in the road.

"Lina-chan, what do you think about Zelgadis-san?"

"Him? He is my best friend. We have been since school. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering," Amelia said.

"Amelia-chan, do you like Zelgadis?"

"What ever gave you that idea?"

"Maybe it is the fact you cannot keep your eyes off of him," Lina smirked. Amelia playfully nudged Lina in the side and blushed.

"I can too look away from him," she giggled.

"Quiet down over there will you?" Zelgadis grumbled from his seat a few over. "I am trying to sleep."

"Your fault for staying up all night Zelgadis-kun," Lina scolded.

"I know, mother," Zelgadis muttered as he turned over. Little to his knowledge was he the topic of Lina and Amelia's conversation for another half hour until they got to the border of the United States and Canada.

* * *

Questions I know you have about my logic/story:

_Why bash Detroit? Don't you live around there?_

Yes, I live close to Detroit. I go there for things like my father's odd drives to Belle Isle and baseball games. I hate the city council for being stupid and letting things like the zoo and aquarium die. Therefore, I bash.

_Angst-y death songs with the randomocity of a singular love song? Huh?_

That is how my mind functions. I listen to the songs like that. Mr. Cobain and his work are classics in these examples. Yes, I love Nirvana.

_Sarnia? Where the frik is that?_

A city in Canada across the St. Clair River from Port Huron, which is about an hour and a half to two hours of good driving north of me/Detroit.

_Why do Filia and Naga go away?_

They do. I do not know too much about Filia and Naga cannot ever meet Amelia. Some fic commandments there for you.

_-kun, -san, and –chan?_

Those are Japanese honorifics. –kun is for guys that are good friends, -chan goes for girls, small child-creatures and lovers and –san is like "Mr" or "Miss". No honorific present usually is mocking or a deeply earned right, depending on the usage. I try to use them when the subject is present.

_Will you update nicely and on time again?_

Umm… maybe…? I wrote the ending, all of four, some of five and now working on getting the story to go from five to the end. That is it. Everything depends on my mother's allowance of me and computer. Also, I shall be trekking over to the realm of the Dutch-speaking grandparents this weekend, so I will have to spend some time with them too. I only have one set of the Dutch-speaking grandparents, so fanfics will have to be neglected.


	4. Shi

Here you all go... another spiffy update of The Unexpected Band! wh00t! Thank you those who reviewed, you mean a whole lot to me. Now my brother who beat me up after reading this chapter... that is a different story.

* * *

Shi

"GOOD NIGHT SEATTLE!" Amelia yelled animatedly into the microphone. It was the end of the sixth stop in the near ceaseless tour, having already stopped in Detroit, Toronto, a side-trip to Buffalo in New York, Quebec and Vancouver. Now the band got to relax and enjoy themselves for the rest of the early November night and did not have to worry about moving out again until the following afternoon. They closed off the show, changed out of their suave city costumes, into their own clothes and headed out towards the bus.

"Hey Lina-chan," Zelgadis said, coming up from behind and tapping her on the shoulder. "What did you think about the show tonight?"

"Good, as usual," Lina laughed. "You know, with your voice as well as Amelia's we are ten times better than when we had just Naga."

"No offence to her, but she did not do too well with the low notes," Zelgadis said a bit absentmindedly. He watched blankly as some leaves wisped by in the wind. "You also did a great job tonight you know. Everyone says that you have so much keyboard potential it is unreal."

"Well, I do try," Lina blushed.

"Hey, I'm going to go out tonight with Amelia," Zelgadis said as soon as he caught sight of Amelia in the parking lot, standing right outside the tour bus waiting for him. "Don't stay up worrying."

"Why should I worry about you? You are only the most famous idol in the whole country, turning into the world," Lina cackled. "You go and have fun."

"Thanks a lot!" he said. Zelgadis spun and trotted off towards Amelia, who took his arm and walked off with him. They looked very happy as they walked away, almost like a couple in love.

"What am I, the guy's mother?" Lina muttered to herself. She hopped inside the tour bus and crawled into her cubby-hole room.

Her room was not that bad of a place. It was big enough for a twin bed and space to stand next to it. Random shelving above the bed made useful for storing her clothes and other personal items. She lay down on her bed and stared out of the small window by her pillow.

_Zelgadis-kun has grown so close to Amelia-chan_, she thought. _She has even stopped referring to him as 'Mr" at this point. I am surprised that the tabloids are so quiet about it. Every celebrity magazine in the country should be on their case. Heh. I guess they do not like us or something. Wait a second. I wonder where Xellos-kun and Gabriev-san went..._

There was a soft knock at the door. Lina wondered which one of the missing persons it was.

"Lina-chan," Gourry said, hidden from view on the other side of the door. "I am going out for a burger. Would you like to join me?"

"Sure," Lina said. She really did not think anything of it until she opened the door. Standing in the narrow hall that separated the front of the bus with the seats from the back with the kitchenette and makeshift main room was not her manager, but a young man that could have possibly been in the band with her. His long blonde hair was pulled out of the usual ponytail it was always restrained in, flowing freely down his back. Gone was the business suit and tie and in its place was random grungy blue jeans and a form-fitting black shirt. Blue eyes smiled down at Lina as she quietly closed the door to her room.

"Ready?" Gourry asked.

"Yeah," Lina said, turning her eyes to the floor and blushing. She and Gourry grabbed their jackets and walked out of the bus, into the night. They walked all through the city until a twenty-four hour burger stand was in view.

"Gabriev-san," Lina asked once they were seated at a booth in the back of the small restaurant. "Why did you want me to come with you?"

"Well, because I like you Lina-chan," he answered simply. Gourry took one of the menus and started to gaze through it. Nervously, Lina did the same. They ordered a bunch of food each and sat there awkwardly once the waitress left.

_Why am I so nervous?_ Lina asked herself. She silently played with her fork amidst the uneasy lack of conversation.

"What is the matter? Are you alright Lina?" Gourry asked, trying to look into her downcast eyes. "Is something wrong?"

"No," she said. "It is just that, this feels a bit weird Gabriev-san."

"Call me Gourry, please," he asked. Soon, their food was before them and they ate silently.

"Hey, I think it is one of our songs on the radio," Lina said suddenly.

"You are right," Gourry replied, listening closely to the muffled instrumental. "I do not believe there were any words to this one, was there?"

"No, just Zelgadis and Xellos showing off their god-like powers again," Lina muttered through her soda pop.

"If I would not know better," Gourry said calmly. "There is a keyboard solo in here that is by one of the best there has ever been."

"Why would you say that Gab.. er.. Gourry-kun?" Lina asked.

"I think I know good music when I hear it."

Lina sat throughout the rest of dinner without making another sound. Thoughts rushed through her head. She could not look up at the man across the table, she was too embarrassed. It sounded as if he really did like her, but was it all real? Gourry sure did act like a sincere goof of a man, but how could she really be so sure?

Without words, Lina and Gourry exited the diner. Neither tried to talk with the other. Both just walked along in the cool night, Gourry clearly leading the way to somewhere.

"Where are we going?" Lina asked as Gourry made a sharp turn into a city park.

"Does it matter?" he replied.

"No..."

"Then come on."

Lina followed her manager with suspicious intrigue. Why the park? What was he planning? It all seemed to be so oddly undescribable. She knew Gourry was up to something.

"Look," he said finally, having climbed a small hill. He gazed through the slender trees and over into the shadowy distance as Lina climbed the hill to reach his side.

_Oh my..._ she thought. She could see a good portion of the city, all speckled in lights. It was almost like looking up at a country sky with the many flickering lights all about. It was one of the most beautiful things she had seen in a long time.

"I thought you would like it," Gourry said with a vague smile. "I used to come to Seattle in the summer to spend time with my dad. He would take me here and we would talk for hours, just him and me. I loved it when I was kid and all through my teen years."

"I think it is beautiful," Lina said, still a bit taken aback by the beauty.

"Like a sky to look down upon?"

"Yeah."

Suddenly, a bolt went down Lina's back. Within the time she and Gourry had been standing next to each other, they had clasped onto one another's hands. It almost seemed as an instinct. Slowly, she let go, but put her arm around Gourry's waist instead of down at her side. She closed her eyes and nestled softly into his chest.

"Lina...?"

"Shh..."

"What is it?"

"Do not talk, or one of us might say something stupid and spoil the moment."

"Oh, right."

Gourry sighed as he put his arm around Lina's shoulders. It was so right holding her in his arm. Carefully, he leaned downward and lightly kissed her forehead.

Lina's heart leaped. She looked up at Gourry and into his deep azure eyes. They were so comforting, so inviting. Tiptoing slightly, she leaned in closer to Gourry's face. Quickly, he closed the gap and kissed her full out. After a second of shock, Lina started to kiss back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him as hard as she could.

Lina knew at this moment she was in love with Gourry.

Only seconds seemed to pass by before the two let go of each other. An eternity passed in those quickly-fleeting moments, but once they left, the impact was great. No longer were they band member and manager, but a couple that were in love.

Gourry's watch then beeped wildly, wrecking the tender aura.

"Damn it!" he said while he looked at his watch. "It is almost one in the morning!"

"We should go back to the bus before the other three begin to wonder where we have been," Lina said, taking off down the hill. Laughing, she and Gourry ran all the way back to the tour bus. They walked in to find it abandoned with not a soul in sight.

"I wonder where everyone is," Gourry asked, a bit puzzled.

"Well, I am going to find out," Lina pouted, sitting down on the couch in the improvised back room. From there, she would have been able to see anyone who tried to go into the bedrooms, so she would catch, Xellos, Amelia and Zelgadis each coming back.

"Then I'll stay up with you!" Gourry said cheerily. He sat down on the couch next to her, but quickly fell asleep. It was not long after that when Xellos walked in, a White Castle cup in one hand and a sack of burgers in the other.

"Now where have you been?" Lina asked suspiciously as he put the burgers in the small refrigerator.

"Now that..." Xellos said, taking a sip from the fast food cup, logo plainly in view, "...is a secret!"

"Xellos-kun..."

"When one gets the muchies, one must procure food!" Xellos said happily as he went inside his cubbyhole-room. Quietly, he shut the door as to not wake Gourry and was hidden from view.

_Lovely_, Lina thought. _Now all I have to do is wait for the lovebirds to get back and I can go to sleep._

Yet Zelgadis and Amelia did not come. She waited and waited until she drifted off into shallow sleep. She did not wake until the sun was just rising over the horizon, a time when most others would most likely be sleeping, especially in her state.

_Hm? What happened? _Lina asked herself groggily as she straightened out. She was unaware of Gourry's presence next to her, seemingly forgotten until he shifted in place.

_Eeeik! What the...? What were we doing? Oh, yeah, waiting up like worried parents. Where are those two?_

Lina stood up and headed over to Amelia's door and knocked lightly on it.

"Amelia-chan, are you in there?"

No answer.

Lina opened up the door. Everything was how Amelia had left it yesterday in the rush to get over to the stadium for the show. Her small laptop computer was on, sitting by her half-open window and belongings tossed everywhere.

_Well, not in here_, Lina thought. She turned around to face the door to Zelgadis's niche. Carefully, she went up to the door and knocked.

"Hello? Zelgadis-kun?"

_They can't be._

"Zelgadis-kun?"

_For once make me wrong._

Lina slowly turned the doorknob. Opening the door a slight crack, she peeked in. There seemed nothing wrong. She opened the door a slight bit more. Rapidly, she spun around and closed the door softly as possible after getting the shock of her life. Lina leaned up against the shut door and let herself sink to the floor.

_Were they in bed?_ she thought.

She tried to get the very idea out of her mind, but it would not budge. Lina tried and tried to forget, but could not. She had just seen Zelgadis and Amelia, bare-shouldered and under the same blanket. Amelia's head rest peacefully in the crook of Zelgadis's arm while he embraced her in slumber. The picture was almost too much for Lina's poor brain to take without melting. The man in that room had been her best friend since childhood and she would have never expected to see anything near this come from him.

_What in the hell? Since when have they been that close?_ Lina thought. She stood up and walked shakily over to her own miniature room. As soon as she laid herself down on her bed, she went right into a deep, dreamless sleep. Hours would pass before she emerged from her room. Even after she woke up, Lina tried to stay inside her room as much as she could, pretending she was asleep. Xellos even started to drive off towards Sacramento with her still in the small room, which proved to be a bumpy and unwanted experience. It was not until she had been out of her room for an hour and a half did she say anything.

"Lina-chan," Amelia asked, coming back on the bus after a short stop outside the California/Oregon state line. "What is the matter?"

"Nothing," Lina muttered. She did not want admit to Amelia what she had seen, even if it was not much. Amelia just sighed and held out a random cup of coffee.

"Here, drink this," she said. Lina took the cup and drank from it. The coffee was hot and soothing as it went down her throat. It did make her feel a slight bit at ease.

"I am sorry if I worried you guys," she told Amelia as Xellos started to drive again.

"Oh, I don't mind too much," Amelia said. "We all have our bad days. Gourry was just wondering if something he did last night upset you. Where did you guys go?"

"Where did you and Zelgadis go?"

"Nowhere."

"Then the same goes for Gourry and me," Lina replied smoothly, taking another sip of coffee. She loved to see the look of frustration on Amelia's face. It made her laugh.

Oh, did Lina laugh.

* * *

More Questions That I Know You Have!

_Why did Naga go?_

She just went. I cannot have Amelia and Naga meeting each other. They can never meet... ever. It just would not be right.

_What is up with Seattle?_

Never been there. Just figured it would be a good place to stop.

_Next update?_

Monday! I shall post the last bit on Monday! Yes, I know it is sudden, but I shall post the end then and that shall be it! Until then!


	5. Go

Eeeik! Tuesday! I didn't know I would not have internet until Wendsday! A national holiday kept me from school and updating and then I could not log in yesterday because the server was blocked or something. -cries- Alright, enough of that. Drum-roll please! -bangs hands on desk- Now here is the end to The Unexpected Band!

Go

The first ever tour for the band _Slayers _was just all too great, even for the members themselves. Zelgadis and Amelia still went out every once and a while, as well as Gourry and Lina. Xellos always would arrive back at the bus after a late-night fast food run to find Lina waiting up, Gourry asleep at her side. Zelgadis and Amelia always came back very late, yet every time made it before sunrise. Lina had made it her "duty" to watch them carefully, especially in Las Vegas. After their stops at Sacramento, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, the band bus also had to stop in Phoenix, Houston, New Orleans, Jackson, Orlando, Nashville, New York City and Toledo. As soon as they felt they were starting the tour, it all ended in Detroit on a blustery March day. Xellos pulled into the familiar football stadium parking lot and everyone strolled into the stadium, going separate ways to get ready.

After a short while, Rei the Show Coordinator noticed some changes in the band members and their manager. The intimacy between Zelgadis and Amelia was highly apparent. Lina and Gourry were not fighting like they had been last time, but instead laughing and joking around. It was all very unusual to Rei. Quickly, he found Xellos and started to talk to him.

"Xellos-san," he asked. "What happened to everyone else? They seem different somehow."

"That is a secret between them," Xellos answered. "I have not noticed anything, but that might be because I have been with them the whole time you have not."

"Oh," Rei said.

"However," Xellos continued. "I have noticed however, Amelia acting a bit strangely. Strangely even for one such as herself. She might be keeping something from us."

"Still, whatever it is, it really is none of our business I guess," Rei said grimly. He really wanted to know what was up. Going to Xellos would not have helped even if he interrogated the man until concert time. Xellos grinned, knowing that he won, and walked off to get changed into his costume.

"ARE YOU READY TO ROCK!" Zelgadis screamed into the microphone, his deep voice resonating throughout the stadium. The crowd in turn bellowed back. It was twice as big as the opening night attendance and very apparent that _Slayers _was growing rapidly in popularity.

Slamming into his guitar, Zelgadis started up the concert. He and the others played for ten whole minutes on a hard-rock instrumental, Amelia jumping around the stage besides him and Xellos and Lina on platforms. Suddenly the band cut off the song and started anew. Amelia served up a good bass background to Zelgadis's booming voice.

_Every time I look in the mirror_

_All I can see is you_

_Takes all I have to look away_

_For what I see is true_

_I see a demon, a monster ugly_

_Glaring back at me_

_Go away now, I can see now_

_What you don't want to be_

Almost unconsciously, Amelia started to sing in harmony with Zelgadis in the chorus.

_Now go_

_Go far away_

_Don't come back_

_Don't want to hear you say_

Next came the duet of the song. Amelia and Lina played as hard as they could, then let off for Zelgadis to sing once more.

_You have left me for another_

_Now may I start to weep_

_I'll never recover from your presence_

_My scars have dug too deep_

_Liberalize my thoughts and feelings_

_Pain is all that's left of me_

_Your being constricted my empty soul_

_Now you're gone and I'm free_

The chorus was sung again and more guitar riffs slammed out. The crowd rhythmically chanted the band's name. Zelgadis and Amelia were all over the stage, lights pouring over them and their own handiwork blasting in their ears. Everything was as perfect as it could have been.

Backstage though, Gourry was feeling nervous. He could not tell to why, but he could feel something was amiss. Rei told him to relax and enjoy the music, but Gourry was just too tense.

Then it happened. Clear and sharp, a noise cut through the air, cleaving the music from the audience. It was a few seconds before anyone could realize that the noise was from a gunshot.

"Lina! Guys! Offstage quickly!" Gourry yelled as he bolted onto the stage to help Lina and Xellos down from the platform. "Someone has a gun! We have to get out of here!"

Just as Gourry got Lina off the platform and as Xellos jumped down from his, another shot rang out, as well as a screech from Amelia.

"ZELGADIS!" she yelled. Lina and Gourry turned to see Amelia hunched over Zelgadis, all tense and pain-stricken. His face was contorted into a grimace and blood was pouring out of a wound in his chest, right below his shoulder blade.

"Amelia! Get down!" Lina cried. She started to run out to her friends, but in an instant there was another shot, then gold...

* * *

Lina Inverse got out of work at six o'clock, just like she always did. It was raining roughly, which caused her to pull her grey trench coat collar up and her blue security guard's hat down. She walked the half mile from the museum to a flower store. There she got a single white rose and placed it in her coat for the brisk walk over to the cemetery. Making her way through the maze of gravestones, she halted right before plowing into a small boy that was blocking the cobblestone path. He could not have been much older than six and was staring at the polished rock in front of him with severe intrigue.

"Oh! I am sorry ma'am!" the small child said, noticing Lina standing next to him. He moved so he was not blocking the way. Lina laughed on the inside when she saw the young boy's face look up at her through the rain. It was a familiar hard and grey. His hair was a soft purple framing eyes of sapphire blue. Lina knew exactly who's child this was.

"Hello there Zelgadis. Where is your mother?"

The small boy looked up at Lina with wonder and amazement. He could not remember this woman, but she could clearly remember him.

"Zelgadis!" a voice yelled from down the path. A woman with black hair ran up to the boy, her face hidden from Lina by a yellow umbrella that protected her from the rain. "Zelgadis, how many times do I have to tell you to not run off like that?"

"Mommy," Little Zelgadis said, pointing at Lina. "The lady knows my name. How does she know my name?" The woman looked up at Lina and gasped.

"How long has it been Amelia? Seven years? We really need to stop meeting like this," Lina chuckled. Amelia gave a forced laugh and smiled.

"I see time has not changed you much Lina," Amelia said. Her small son hid behind her, peeking out from the shelter of her coat to stare at his mother's friend.

"Ah, but time has changed you. Look at you. A child, I bet that dream job as a police officer is secured, no more bars and stages for you."

"Then are you still our loyal security guard, sitting around old things that do not move, taking care of them on your life's honor?"

Both Lina and Amelia laughed. They then half-turned to the headstones sitting side by side. Each stone was simple. No fancy lettering or nothing, just the names of their owners, their birthday and their last day on earth.

"Zelgadis," Amelia said softly. She bent down to eye level with the child and pointed to the gravestone on the right. "There he is."

"Father?" Little Zelgadis asked.

"Yes, your father," she answered. The child went up and touched the name emblazoned in the rock that was so eerily similar to his own. A jolt went down his back as he ran his fingers over the smooth, wet stone.

_Father..._ he thought.

Lina sighed and took the rose from her coat. Carefully, she set it down on the ground, propped up on the gravestone next to her best friend's.

"I still love you Gourry," she whispered, choking back painful tears. "There is never a moment where I do not wish you were here. I want you to be alive. I want Zelgadis to be alive. He can never see his son grow up and we can never have any of our own." She held back her sobs as hard as she could. "Oh, why does it have to be this way?"

"Maybe it was part of the Great Plan," Amelia said, putting her hand on Lina's shoulder for comfort.

"It might be," Lina said. She let out a small, forced laugh. "At least Xellos is not here to see me get all emotional. He moved to England around two years ago."

"Did he now?"

"Yeah, him and Filia. They plan on starting a family soon."

Nothing more was said between the two former band members. There was no use for such things at that point. The rain had died down slightly and for a while, the only water that fell was the tears from Lina, Amelia and Little Zelgadis's eyes before it started back up again. There was too much pain for talking. Many memories flashed though the minds of the two women about the day when their lovers died.

_-flash-_

_...in the news today, the lead singer and the manager of the breakout rock band _Slayers_, along with a few dozen concert goers have been shot..._

_...are being contained at St. Jude in serious condit..._

_...the gunmen who attacked their final concert appearance in Detroit are still at large..._

_...Zelgadis Graywords and Gourry Gabriev, lead singer/guitarist and the manager of the rock group _Slayers_ both died early this morning..._

_...died..._

_...no suspects have been found or identified..._

_...died..._

_-flash-_

Lina and Amelia could both remember how painful it was after Gourry and Zelgadis were shot on that fateful day seven years ago. Both girls had spent a week in St. Jude Hospital at their lover's sides. Amelia was horrified, for she knew she was going to have a child in seven months and Lina was the same for Gourry had taken the bullet that was headed towards her heart. Neither man ever recovered from their wounds and died within two hours of each other.

The young boy, however, could not think or even imagine these things. He could not remember a single thing about his father. His death was months before he was even born. That is why his mother gave him such the unusual name of Zelgadis, to carry on his father's legacy. He had no idea how different his life could have been if his Zelgadis's wounds were not enough to kill him. Amelia never told her son about his father's fame and would-have-been fortune. It was best if he found out on his own. Slowly, he turned towards Lina and tilted his head to one side.

"Are you my father's friend Lina Inverse?"

"Why yes, I am. I am your Aunt Lina. I have not seen you since I looked at your father last. You do look so much like him," Lina said, squatting down to the boy's eye level and patting him on the head. The child just looked at her, not understanding the sentimentalism in her words.

"Lina-chan?" Amelia asked. "Have you been here before?"

"Yes," Lina answered. "Every year on the day they both died. I bring a rose for Gourry and a prayer for Zelgadis. I can tell that this at least the first time Zelgadis-chan has been here."

"Well, we are moving back to the city," Amelia sighed. "In the fall we will move into a house on the river."

"Tell me where exactly you end up then," Lina said quietly. "I would like to help you look after the boy, if it would be alright."

"Perfectly. Zelgadis would have wanted that."

Things were subsequently very quiet. Nobody could muster it up to speak a word. Then, very slowly, the rain started to subside once again. It became a light drizzle, then was thin enough for Amelia to put down her umbrella and Lina to put her coat collar back down.

"Where did you go?" Lina asked, still staring at Gourry's grave. "After Zelgadis and Gourry died, you just took off in a rush and never left a forwarding address."

"I went home to my father's place in the country," Amelia replied morosely. "I was a widow even before I was married. There was nowhere that I felt I could go, not with Zelgadis coming. I know it was wrong to just disappear, yet I was just so afraid. The amount of coverage on the shooting was so great, I never wanted our child to be exposed to any of it."

"Mommy," Little Zelgadis asked. "What are you talking about?"

"I will tell you when you are older Zelgadis," Amelia sighed, patting her son on the head. "Why don't you go and wait in the car while I talk to Lina-san."

"Bye Lina-san," Little Zelgadis said, hugging Lina around the waist and running off to his mother's small grey car.

"He looks exactly like him," Lina marveled. She stood up straight so that she was eye to eye with Amelia. Her eyes were just filled with hardship, grief and suffering, so much that it was nearly unbearable.

"It is a mixed blessing," Amelia said. "He is picked on at school and obviously some of his classmates have figured out he is part chimera. Zelgadis is never picked for anything and only has one friend."

"Is it a short red-headed girl with a hair-trigger temper?" Lina lightly joked.

"No, a small boy with long blonde hair."

"Heh. Hey, you know where to find me for when you move back to the city, right?" Lina asked.

"Yeah, I remember. You have not moved then?"

"No. Not planning to. I guess I'll see you around then."

"See you around."

And with that, the two former band members parted ways once again. Neither was overly sad to depart, for they both knew that one day, they would meet again and that their lovers would both rest in peace.

**The End**

Fwuah! -punches air- I finished! Oh my Lord, I cried while I wrote that ending! Can you imagine? Bawling Nez-chan. Not a pretty picture.

_For me reviewers_:

Gerao-A: Danke, arigato, gracias, however-you-say-it-in-Portugese, THANK YOU! -glomp- You guys are awesome reviewers! I hope it all was good. Alandra, Sunny, AirJay, Maliska and Ramon, I am glad you have reviewed some of my stories and I have a feeling that this is not the last we will see of each other!

Zeraf: Hey man! Arigato for all of your reviews! They were very much appreciated.

Zanbato: My little brother, never a review, but always there to listen to my ramblings. I owe you a bit. Not much, but a bit.


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